The Life Of A Child
by Demystified
Summary: The story of how a life of a child will change Jack's.
1. Alone On The Farm

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harvest Moon  
  
The sun was slowly setting and the cool breeze was blowing into Jack's hair. The view from the mountaintop was indescribable. You could sit up there and feel like there was not a problem in the world. The view did something to you. Jack sat upon the mountain, his legs being held close to his chest by his arms, and gazed upon Mineral Town. Jack felt calm; at one with the nature around him.  
  
He stood up, brushed the dirt off from his pants, and then took one final breath to take it all in. "Spectacular" he thought to himself. He put his hat on his brown hair, backwards of course, and proceeded to walk down the mountaintop.  
  
He took a quick glance at his watch. 9:10. "The Inn's still open" he thought. So Jack stopped by the Inn for a quick drink before he went to bed. While he was there, he saw some of his neighbors, or as he called them "the usuals at the Inn." He walked around aimlessly, drink in hand. He wasn't sure on what he wanted to do, or to whom he wanted to talk to. Something deep inside him told him that this was where he should be right then.  
  
Within moments, the reason why he was there had come. A beautiful blond with green eyes pushed open the doors to the bar and started to walk towards Jack. His heart filled with happiness. "Karen" he thought. There was something about her that he absolutely adored, but he didn't quite know what it was. Jack started to think that Karen was walking towards him, so he was filled with excitement. But as she continued to walk, he realized that she was walking to her friend Ann, who was standing behind him. His heart sank. "I guess I'll head home" he told himself.  
  
The walk home was a lonely one. Everyone was either in their homes asleep, or out drinking at the Inn. He had reached his farm. "Home. I guess it doesn't get much better than this." He then whistled so his dog, Munchy, would come running to him. "It's time to go inside, boy" he told the dog. The two of them walked inside the house.  
  
Jack got cleaned up for bed; he washed his face, took a hot bath, brushed his teeth, and had a quick bite to eat. He sat on his bed, not feeling a bit tired. He just starred at the floor hopelessly. He glanced to the little wooden table on his bedside and picked up his journal. "I've been here two weeks and I have never felt more alone than I do now..." He had finished writing and put his journal back on his table. He laid down in bed, but sleeping seemed like a difficult task. The thoughts of his childhood came back to him. The days when he would visit Grandpa and try to help out on the farm. "That mystery girl...I wonder if she's still hanging around here" he thought to himself. "It doesn't matter anyway. If things don't work out better in the next month or so, I think I'm going to head back to the city."  
  
Jack was still a child, only 16 years old. This life that he had been thrown into seemed to be more than he could handle. Jack needed some sort of hope in his life. Something that would tell him that his life on the farm was going to be the best life he would ever have.

A/N: I know that it's a bit of a slow start. Things should start to pick up in the next chapter.


	2. A Child Enters His Life

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Harvest Moon  
  
The chickens started to crow. It was morning. Jack's eyes opened slowly. He shrugged over towards the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His eyes looked bloodshot. "I guess that's the result of little sleep." He made his breakfast and got ready for another day of hard work. As he was eating, many different thoughts were running through his mind; but the one that triggered his thoughts the most, was that of the young girl—Karen. "I've only spoken to her once, yet I feel like I am connected to her" he thought to himself. He took a quick look at his watch. 6:15. He realized that he needed to buy some new seeds for summer, so he would need to take a run down to the supermarket later. But before he did that, he had to take care of the animal work.  
  
He did his usual morning routine. Milk cows, feed chickens, ride horse. Jack glanced at his watch again. 10:30. "The supermarket should be open by now" he thought. He rubbed the sweat off his forehead and began to make his way into town. He walked into the supermarket and said hello to everyone. He picked up a few packs of tomato seeds and proceeded to pay what he owed. As he was paying for his seeds, it seemed as if all time stopped—Karen had walked out from the room next door. Her long, golden hair flowed as she glided right towards Jack. "Hello." She had sweetly said. "How have things been going on your farm?"  
  
Jack was speechless. It took him a minute to realize what was happening. _Karen_ was talking to _him_. It was a dream come true. "J-just fine"  
  
"That's wonderful. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." Karen had replied. But Jack just stood there, dumbstruck. He eventually nodded to what Karen had said. Karen giggled because of the way Jack was behaving. She gave him a little wave as a goodbye, and then left. After a few moments, Jack smacked his forehead and could only think of how foolish he acted. He picked up his tomato seeds and started to walk back to his farm.  
  
Jack reached his farm and then started to walk towards his house so he could put away some of the seeds. But before he could enter the house, he realized something was preventing him from doing so. There was a young boy lying down in front of his doorway. The young lad appeared to be sleeping and was covered in dirt. Jack knelt down and gave the boy a little shake. "Hey, wake up, sonny." The boy tossed his head and opened his eyes. It took him a second to realize where he was.  
  
"Oh, hiya Mister." The kid rubbed his eyes and proceeded to stand up. "My name's Ben."  
  
"Well hello there Ben. What brings you to my farm?" Jack had asked. He was still positioned on one knee so he was at the same height level as Ben. The little boy shrugged his shoulders in response to Jack's question. "Do you know where you live?" The boy shrugged his shoulders again. Jack then thought about what else he should ask the boy. He wanted to get him back to his family so they wouldn't be worried sick. "Did you run away from home, Ben?"  
  
"No. Daddy dropped me off here and told me to wait while he got some firewood."  
  
Jack thought over Ben's reply. He thought that he was telling the truth, so he figured that Ben should just stick around until his father came back with some wood. "Well, until he comes back, would you like to help me out here on the farm?"  
  
Ben's face lit up. He smiled and replied, "Would I ever!" Jack then stood up, outstretched his hand for Ben to take hold of, and walked him over to the field. Jack handed Ben a bag of tomato seeds and told him to hold it. Jack picked up his hoe and started to dig a 3 by 3 foot square.  
  
"Ok Ben, now I want you to drop a tomato seed in each hole. You got that?" Ben smiled, and then nodded his head. He put one tomato seed in each hole, just like Jack had told him to do. "Wow, you're a pro at this job!" Ben smiled. "So how old are you, buddy?" Ben put the bag of tomato seeds on the ground and then held up 6 of his fingers. "Wow. You're one strong 6-year- old!" Jack then squatted down, picked up Ben under his arms and started to spin him around above his head.  
  
Ben started laughing. "Wee! I feel like superman!" Jack then put Ben down. "That was fun!" Ben had exclaimed. "I like you, sir!" Jack laughed a bit, realizing that he never told Ben his name.  
  
"Call me Jack. Or Mr. Jack if you want."  
  
Ben outstretched his hand and shook Jack's. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Jack." Jack couldn't help but laugh. Jack had found various small things for Ben to help out with on the farm, while he finished up all the mandatory work on the farm. He didn't realize how late it was until the town clock struck 6. Jack looked around the farm, but there was no sign of this mystery man that Ben called his father. He was no where to be found. Jack even searched the forest, but no luck. It looked like Ben was going to have to spend the night at Jack's farm. Jack decided to write a note saying that Ben was inside because he couldn't find his parents, just incase his father did show up. He posted the note on his front door.  
  
Jack opened up the tall wooden cabinet in the corner of his house and pulled out his extra blanket and pillow. He set up a place where he would sleep, so that Ben could take his bed for the night. "You can sleep in my bed tonight, Ben. Ok?" Ben nodded in reply. "We'll look for your dad, first thing tomorrow morning." Ben smiled. "Goodnight, Ben."  
  
"Goodnight Mr. Jack." Jack turned off the light, and for the first time in 2 weeks, he fell asleep right away. 


	3. Disappointment and Love

Jack woke up early the next day—he wasn't used to get that much sleep. He realized that he still had a whole 2 hours until he needed to start work, so he figured that a quick stroll around town couldn't hurt him. Jack thought about all the places he could go, and then it hit me. The Beach. He had never been there, except for that first day he had come to Mineral Town. "I could use a walk on the beach" Jack thought to himself.  
  
Jack walked to the beach, took off his shoes, and felt the sand rise between his toes. Within moments, he soon realized that he was not alone on that brisk summer morning. She was there. But something wasn't right. Karen always seemed like the upbeat type of person to Jack, but he soon saw a side of Karen that he'd never seen before. Karen was curled up on the beach, her feet buried beneath the cold sand. She sat there, starring at the city far away. But within those wandering eyes, were tears. She kept trying to brush them away, but they kept coming. Jack didn't want to invade Karen's personal life, but she looked really distraught. He slowly crept towards her, trying not to make too much noise. She still didn't know he was there. "I-Is" Jack then cleared his throat to get rid of the mucus still bunched up from his sleep. "Is everything alright, Karen?" She quickly turned around, gasped, then turned back towards the ocean and tried to hide her tears.  
  
"I'm fine! Everything's wonderful. You got you're news update, so you can go back and milk those cows of yours now."  
  
Jack obviously knew that he was welcome there at the present moment, and he didn't feel like upsetting her anymore. He wanted to get to know Karen's real side, the one hidden beneath that mask of hers. She was so interesting, so peculiar to Jack. He just stared there for a few moments, admiring what was sitting before him. "Before I leave, I thought you should know" Jack had added. Karen then turned around to see what Jack wanted to say. "I can't help but smile whenever I'm around you or think of you." Jack gave a little grin. "Have a nice day, Karen." He then turned away, put on his shoes, and walked back to his farm. Karen turned back to the deep blue sea, brushed away her tears, and smiled.  
  
Jack walked back to his farm, a little bit happier than from when he left. He continued his daily farm chores for the next few weeks, each with no sign of Ben's family. He and Ben drew closer and closer together, while Karen and him we starting to have normal conversations. Things started to be looking on the bright side for Jack.  
  
Jack was then walking to the woods one day, to pick some grapes for Karen. He could here some laughing and talking from afar, so he decided to go and see who it was. He crept up, so that they wouldn't know he was there. And before his very eyes was Karen. But she wasn't alone. Oh no, she was with someone, and that someone wasn't Ann. Holding Karen in his arms was the one, the only, Rick. He kept whispering things into her ear, then kissing her neck. It sickened Jack to see this happen. The two then stopped talking. Rick then moved in towards Karen and kissed her. Jack felt his heart sank. He dropped his grapes and walked away.  
  
"I thought she liked me" Jack had said to Ben. "Things were starting to go along good between us. I wouldn't stutter and she wouldn't yell at me." Ben just sat there, with his head tilted a little to the side, as if he was trying to comprehend what Jack was saying to him. Jack laughed, realizing that he shouldn't spill his girl troubles on a six year old. He rubbed Ben's head and said, "I bet you just can't wait until you get a girlfriend." Ben smiled.  
  
Jack sighed. Karen seemed like the only person in the town who seemed to understand him. It looked like she wasn't interested in him though. She was interested in Rick.  
  
Jack looked around his home. He then turned to see Ben sitting on his bed. Ben then said, "Mr. Jack?"  
  
"Yes Ben?" Jack responded.  
  
"Are you my new dad?" Ben asked curiously.  
  
Jack didn't know what to say. He hadn't heard anything about Ben's parents. He had asked everyone in town and no one had heard of them. Jack then went to sit next to Ben on the bed. He wrapped his arm around him and said, "Do you want me to be your new dad?"  
  
Ben smiled and replied, "Yes! I like you, Mr. Jack." He then hugged Jack.  
  
Jack grinned. "I like you too, Ben. I like you too..." He didn't know if he could really be Ben's new father. He didn't think the town handled situations like this. He realized that he was going to have to go to the city if he was going to make it legal. But first, Jack had to think it over. Taking upon a child was a big responsibility. Jack too was a child, only 16 years old. Was he ready for something this big? He would lose some of the privileges of being young. Was Ben this important enough to him? Could this child in his life help form the life of his own? 


End file.
